Just shy of a year ago: [https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/trading-future-draft-picks-kevin-durant-donovan-mitchell-trade-rumors/tnyrfimxsgvhk2fave79rde1](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/trading-future-draft-picks-kevin-durant-donovan-mitchell-trade-rumors/tnyrfimxsgvhk2fave79rde1)
>The jury is still out on…
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>Paul George to the Clippers
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>**Clippers got:** Paul George
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>**Thunder got:** Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, 2021 first-round pick (became Tre Mann), 2022 first-round pick (became Jalen Williams), 2023 first-round pick, 2023 first-round pick, 2024 first-round pick, 2025 first-round pick, 2026 first-round pick
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>Even if you view this through the lens of the trade landing the Clippers both George *and* Leonard, who signed with the franchise as a free agent and [wanted to play with George](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27129474/sources-clippers-land-leonard-george), that’s a lot of picks. And yet, George and Leonard are still under contract for at least two more seasons, and the acquisitions of Norman Powell, Robert Covington and John Wall set the Clippers up to be [one of the most loaded teams in the league](https://www.sportingnews.com/au/nba/news/nba-power-rankings-warriors-clippers-lakers-way-too-early-projections/icuv0rc3ckehcmm2n8svl8i4).
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>Of course, LA’s championship hopes hinge on George and Leonard being healthy — another big if — but it’s still possible the George trade will help them reach the mountaintop.
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>Gilgeous-Alexander is certainly among the NBA’s most intriguing young stars but even with his potential, he has yet to make an All-Star team and isn’t necessarily a slam dunk franchise-altering talent even if he does go on to become a perennial All-Star.
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>Is there a world in which SGA plays second fiddle alongside Leonard, thus extending the Clippers’ window even further along with keeping their picks? Yes. But he’s not on the same level as George — at least not yet.
This article did not age well.
by jrr2ok
2 Comments
I doubt that sportswriters care. It’s a matter of course that they will likely make predictions which only prove true 10-15% of the time if they’re lucky (or never stick their neck out). As long as they’re not insecure like Chad Ford and go editing past articles to make themselves look better.
If the clips won the ship they would say it was worth it, but since they didn’t it was bad. Just remember when discussing this trade they also got Kawhi.